318 IMMUNO-CATALYSIS 



the analogy of effects between snake venom and lysolecithin on one 

 hand, and staphylococcal toxin on the other, must await further direct 

 experimental evidence. 



b. The Relation of the Lipase Activity of Staphylococci to Hemol- 

 ysis. In this connection it may be of interest to record here a few 

 findings regarding the lipase activity of staphylococcal culture filtrates. 

 This is true since there appears to be a possibility that the lipase and 

 hemolytic activities may be related. Eijkman (1901) reported that a 

 hemolytic Staphylococcus aureus exercised lipase activity, and ex- 

 pressed the view that the hemolytic activity of micro-organisms is due 

 to an enzyme action. Orcutt and How (1922) isolated a staphylococcus 

 from milk which was found to possess a thermolabile and extracellular 

 hemolytic factor. This factor by itself was non-hemolytic, but acquired 

 hemolytic power when it was allowed to act on cream, butter, olive oil 

 and triolein. It did not render tributyrin, triacetin, nut butter, pork fat 

 and fat-free milk hemolytic. 



They also isolated a staphylococcus C from a lung abscess of a cow 

 which manifested the same hemolytic power as the above. When a 

 living culture or an etherized culture of the staphylococcus was per- 

 mitted to stand with cream or other fat for several hours and then was 

 heated to 100°C., the resulting fluid was capable of producing hemol- 

 ysis. The "hemolysin" in the culture filtrate was not dialyzable. It was 

 inactivated at 55°C. 



Hemotoxin production in staphylococci was stated by McBroom 

 (1937) to be definitely correlated with the extent and speed of reduc- 

 tion of methylene blue to the leucobase in the presenc of glucose. 



Antibody Against Lipase of Acid-Fast Bacteria: Sartory and Meyer 

 (1947) have described the production of antilipase to the lipase of the 

 Koch bacillus and Mycobacterium phlei. Lipases isolated from the bac- 

 teria were used to immunize male rabbits. The period of treatment at 

 5-day intervals was extended to 2.5 months. At the 80th day of im- 

 munization antilipase activity of the rabbit serum was tested using a 

 saturated aqueous solution of tributyrin as substrate. At this date the 

 antilipase titer was very high, and two months after the interruption 

 of the injection of lipase, the serum of the rabbit showed still a 

 detectable antilipase activity. The antilipase produced against lipase 

 of acid-fast bacteria had no inhibiting action on normal pancreatic 

 lipase or on the normal serum lipase of man or the young rabbit. The 



